It’s not every Hollywood icon that can claim to have made it big by parlaying a career as a professional swimmer into acting jobs, But Esther Williams, who died today at the age of 91, most certainly can.
A native of Inglewood, California, she was a water baby from an early age, taking jobs at local pools and at Manhattan Beach. She also got swimming lessons from male lifeguards who taught her what were then considered ‘male only’ strokes such as the butterfly, with which she went on to win medals and break records.
Her early career aspirations included becoming a P.E. teacher, although she also worked as a stock girl at a department store before starting to model for the business. While working there, she was contacted by impresario Billy Rose to join his Aquacade show, which saw her paired with future Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller.
After a frustrating attempt to enter the 1940 Summer Olympics (the event was cancelled because of World War II), she attracted the attention of MGM’s Louis B. Mayer, who was looking for a sports star to compete with 20th Century Fox’s skater Sonja Henie. Following a few screen tests and short films, she made her theatrical debut with 1942’s Andy Hardy’s Double Life. It would kick off a career of movies such as Take Me Out To The Ball Game and what were known as the “Aquamusicals”, including Million Dollar Mermaid and Dangerous When Wet.
Besides the watery spectacles, she also worked on more serious films including **The Hoodlum Saint **and bullfighting drama Fiesta.
Once her film career concluded, she dipped into the corporate swimming industry, lending her name to pools, swimwear and even instructional children’s videos. She was also a commentator for the swimming events at the 1984 Olympics.
Married four times, she’s survived by two children and several stepchildren, including actor Lorenzo Lamas, who first tweeted news of her death.